Bewildered
by TheShock
Summary: One day, Princess Celestia found herself thinking more and more about Twilight Sparkle, and her absence from Canterlot Castle drew the white Alicorn in a search for answers. What will she do, when she finds out Twilight's hidden secret? [Ratings & Reviews are welcome! Rated T just to be safe.]
1. Prologue

**I am merely experimenting writing styles with this one.  
**

 **Also fluff, and descriptions.**

 **I have a feeling it might turn into a multi-chaptered fic, but that depends solely on your reviews.  
**

 **So, please, take some time to rate and review this little work of mine.**

 _ **BEWILDERED  
**_

* * *

 _"...you'd understand why I want you so desperately."_

* * *

The Canterlot Castle was gently illuminated by the rays of the sun, as it shined gloriously on the azure sky, whose infinity seemed to have been sometimes stopped by the few fluffy clouds that moved in their ever-slowing manner. While Celestia wasn't always admiring her work, she felt like _this time_ she could do an exception - and she walked out on the marble-like balcony, closing and opening her eyes as she seemed to _want_ to remember the landscape that gently awoke under the sun's gracious rays. Leaving out a long sigh, she recollected a fond memory of herself and Twilight Sparkle in the gardens of Canterlot, surrounded by the scent of red, blossoming roses, roses that were usually the symbol of love.

She couldn't place it, just _why_ was Twilight Sparkle the subject of her latest worries?...

The white alicorn shook her head in disbelief, trying to convince herself it was _nothing_ but the worry of a former teacher towards her former student. But really, how long has it been since she ever looked at her _that_ way? After all, Twilight was slowly, but steadily, turning into a very, very beautiful mare.

 _Mare._

Had she really lost track of that? She still saw the little filly that joined her School for Gifited Unicorns, and who was very much _afraid_ she will end up in Magic Kindergarden, or worse, in Tartarus - while Celestia went out of her way to assure Twilight none of these punishments would really go on her - unless she did something really, really grave and that jeopardized Equestria. But so far, Twilight managed to knock away all the mistakes of her past and learnt a great deal up to the present, a thing Celestia was proud of.

 _"She surpassed all of my expectations,"_ the alicorn could think as her gaze lost itself in the horizon, barely registering somepony else was in the room.

"...Sister? Why haven't you opened the Day Court yet?" Princess Luna asked as she questioningly looked at the white, lost-in-the-sun, alicorn.

"Luna." Celestia simply said as she blinked, and turned her head towards her sister. "I am sorry, I-I may have lost myself in thoughts."

"Sister. You certainly look..." Luna paused, trying to find the right word, "...aloof, these days. What hast thou thinking so deeply?"

"It's..." Celestia paused for a moment, exhaling heavily as if the name was a burden alone, "Twilight Sparkle."

"Ah, I see." Luna said as she approached her sister. "You, ah, haven't visited her chambers in here since she became one of _us_."

Indeed, Luna had a point, Celestia never bothered to even clean said room, since Twilight herself said she wouldn't stay at Celestia's castle anymore - but the sun diarch was not the type of pony to mingle in somepony else's things - then again, Twilight didn't _ask_ for these things to be sent back to her. Even Luna found that curious, as Twilight was very fond of her things - perhaps, the lavender alicorn's reason behind this was deeper than the Lunar Princess thought.

"I think I'm not going to hold the Day Court today," Celestia said, breaking the silence between herself and her sister. "and _you_ have a very, very good way of nitpicking my interests. And toning down my worries, too."

"Hah! You'll actually go and search through Twilight's things, aren't you?" Luna said as a smirk played itself carefully on her snout.

"I suppose it can't do any harm..." she paused, thinking of the consequences such an action would have, before curiosity overwhelmed her. "...In any case, Twilight has yet to ask for these back." the white alicorn said as she trotted back and forth in the room.

"Good _luck_ _,_ Sister. I will let the noblecolts and ponyfolk you're not going to hold Day Court today." the Lunar Princess said as she carefully trotted away from Celestia's private chambers.

 _"Is it really a good idea to do this?"_ the sun diarch thought as she was hesitant over going in that room, until the other side of her was adamant to give it a try. As she engulfed the doors' handles of her private chambers in her light magic, she began descending the large corridor. Her hooves were softly treading on the large, pink carpet along the hallway, and she would pause to look at the windows, noticing the sun was still shining brilliantly - and didn't call out to her just yet. _"Helios enjoys far too much this beautiful sky...but in three hours I have to set the sun."_ Celestia mused as she slowly, but surely, arrived in front of Twilight's former chamber in the Castle.

 _"Am I really...going to do this?"_ she questioned herself, while her brows arched and magenta eyes were sparkling with ...confusion. She found herself unable to just open the door and walk in - like she used to do when Twilight was here - but she needed answers to some _questions_ that started to arise in her mind since Twilight's absence. The alicorn left a sigh as she felt the last wall of hesitation crumble at her need of answers, and whatever was in there, _she could take it_. _  
_


	2. Twilight's Diary, Part One

_**TWILIGHT'S DIARY  
Part One  
**_

* * *

 _"When I'm moving closer...you keep going away."_

* * *

It felt like an eternity since Celestia trotted inside these chambers, the aspect of said room unchanged as time flew - probably because Twilight seemed to have left everything in their exact place - the Princess would stop her gaze over the stacks of books, all of them alphabetically ordered, then on the tons of papers and research that the lavender alicorn did during her studies, the various objects Twilight brought in from her adventures. Still, she couldn't help but feel almost an intruder in here, violating Twilight's personal space by doing this, but the answers to her questions were here and she wasn't going to leave without them.

 _"Luna was right, I've been putting this away for too long."_ Celestia thought as she began looking through Twilight's things, engulfing in her light magic every object, reading every paper and essay, going through the numerous books until she stopped at one that caught her attention. _"This isn't like any of the other books in here..."_ she mused as she opened the cover and looked at the front page.

 ** _"This diary belongs to Twilight Sparkle._**  
 ** _Anyone finding this book will find themselves in front of blank pages, for they are enchanted. Disenchantment can only be performed by a powerful alicorn, such as Princess Celestia or Princess Luna."_**

Celestia's mouth went agape as she read the page, unable to suppress her emotions, a tint of blush covering her snout as her mind was caught in a battle of wits whether or not to read Twilight's diary. She tried to convince herself it wasn't appropriate to read such intimate thoughts, but the other side of her was pressing on to look inside - maybe it could provide the answers she sought so much - then her eyes stopped on the last sentence.

 _"Maybe Luna found this before me..."_ the white alicorn tried to figure out a solution, until she discovered there was _no way_ Luna could've known - mainly because there were no signs of disturbance - the room was very much _untouched._ Celestia sighed as she picked the book with her magic, and retreated inside her chambers, set on reading as much as she could from Twilight's diary - it was the only way she could know anything more about her former student, now _equal_ , that was staying in the small town of Ponyville - and discovered, much to her dismay, that Luna was back in her sister's chambers.

"Lulu, really? You've come back so soon?" she couldn't help shooting her a gaze full of disbelief.

"Have you found what you were looking for?" the Lunar Princess teased as she saw the tome enveloped in Celestia's magic.

"I don't have to-" the white alicorn began to say, only to be shushed by her sister's hoof.

"Have fun reading, you'll enjoy it. And, just between you and me," Luna paused as she enchanted the room with a soundproof spell, "you might want to do that often."

"What, soundproofing my room?" Celestia asked as her eyes widened in surprise.

"Ah, the wickedness in those lines is very, very delicious." Luna smirked as walked through the doors, waiting for a familiar reaction.

"LUNA!" the voice of Celestia bellowed on the other side, as she opened the doors. "You realize this is Twilight we're talking about, don't you? AND WHEN DID YOU-"

"Yes, sister. That is why I told you that, it's very, very wicked. And...ah, I have been busy at night. I had nothing left to read, so I stumbled upon _that_." Luna winked with her right eye.

"I-It also depends on what kind of _wicked_ we're talking about." Celestia added, as a tint of blush graced her snout.

"It has some kind of _wild wickedness_ , but I'd advise you to start with the root of the matter." Luna said as she went down the hallway.

Celestia closed the doors, as her mind was twisting the idea of what could've been in Twilight's diary while she sat on her large, purple ottoman and soundproofed the room, just in case she happened to come across something _interesting_ , until she remembered that she still had to lower the sun. The white alicorn walked out on the balcony and opened her large feathers, as her horn was alit with golden magic and aimed for the sun with a large beam, gently cradling the sun while, on the other side of the castle, Luna was raising the moon and started to design the night to her fashion.

 _"Tomorrow I will hold the Day Court..."_ Celestia thought as she lit up a fire and sat herself back on the purple ottoman, while disenchanting the diary as her mind was stirring in a storm of thoughts, almost wanting to disregard the fact Twilight could have very, very dark secrets - and yet, she was about to delve into those secrets.

 _ **"Entry number one.**_

 _ **I do not know where these thoughts are coming from...**_  
 _ **All I know is that I have been giving them the benefit of doubt on more than one occasion. There is virtually no such possibility for...whatever is that I feel right now.**_  
 _ **Spike constantly badgers me on my poor state of health, of how I don't sleep well etc. and while I appreciate his care, he should understand that this is what my life is."**_

Celestia could almost picture in her mind a very confused Twilight, writing in here as Spike was probably scolding her for not sleeping well again, and the sigh that must've followed as the lavender alicorn resumed her writing - at the same time, the white alicorn went on reading.

 _ **"Today I've been working out on another experiment.**_  
 _ **And today's results will be delivered to her in the next hours, but...**_  
 _ **I can't help but thinking of her."**_

 _"Oh?"_ the white alicorn's eyes sparkled with more confusion as she read that last line. _"Who could've got her attention so? I seem to remember she was distracted sometimes..."_ she thought as she kept reading.

 _ **"** **She's the most beautiful mare I have laid my eyes on.**_  
 _ **Scrub that, she's probably like that in everyone's eyes, and I'm just standing here, writing stuff because I lack the courage to tell her."**_

 _"Luna was right, this looks...interesting, but not to the point of-"_ the Princess blushed as she realized, _"ah, those...are not in the first few entries. Still, this proves to be quite a challenge for me."_


	3. Twilight's Diary, Part Two

**TWILIGHT'S DIARY  
 _Part Two_**

* * *

 _" 'cause you're the one I dream of,_ _every day and night..."_

* * *

It was a new day in Equestria, and while Celestia was busying herself with all the passing matters of the Day Court - scores of ponies were out there, asking for her and her sister's advice - she found that her mind wouldn't stop wandering on whatever Twilight's Diary could contain, further than the first mysterious entry. She was nervously tapping her right front hoof, as she was listening in to Ambassador Feather Wind talking about the northern border of Equestria.

"So, that's why I'm asking to conduct a diplomatic mission to the Deer Kingdom. Perhaps an arrangement can be done, and your Highness would pick a suitable consort from the various Deer nobles." the yellow-coated unicorn said as he gently shook his head.

"If the Court allows me to be frank," Celestia said in a stentorian voice, "I have _no_ interest in picking a consort at this very moment." she accentuated that with a serious glare towards the ambassador, who seemed to shrink under the sun diarch's eyes.

"I-I understand, your Highness," Feather Wind said as his voice cracked, and bowed hastily as he retreated from the Court.

Luna was chuckling a little on how impressive her sister seemed to be, but at the same time, a sudden thought made its' way in her mind as she could observe how frantic Celestia seemed to be.

 _Maybe Tia figured out that she's the subject of Twilight's feelings? No, that can't be it, she doesn't look like she reached the tenth, eleventh entry.  
Perhaps she is curious why Twilight would write about a mare._

 _Note to self: Try to pry out what big sister knows._

The Day Court went on until the afternoon, when Celestia and Luna declared, in their booming Canterlot voice, that audiences would be resumed the following day - and then all the troubled ponies went away from the castle, a dampening silence filling the hallways - except for the faint trotting and chatter of the two sisters as they returned to their private chambers. Luna just couldn't resist prying out her sister's secrets, as the Lunar diarch was both sensible and sensitive about many things and plus, it was fun seeing Celestia's face showing disbelief, contempt or even surprise.

"So..." Luna began as she gently ruffled her wings, "did you have a good read last night?"

"...It was certainly _intriguing_ , but I am barely on the first entry..." Celestia said bashfully.

" _Ah_ , I see. That is why thou-" Luna paused, "you were drumming your hoof on the throne."

"I just need to figure out who this mare is." the white alicorn said as her eyes shifted towards the large window, gazing at the horizon.

"And then, what are you going to do?" Luna smirked.

"Most likely, teach Twilight a few things." Celestia retorted as Luna's smirk dropped instantly.

 _I hope that my sister won't be cruel to poor Twilight when she finds out..._ , the Lunar Princess thought as she bid her sister a good night and entered her chambers, while Celestia was content to light a warm fire in the beautifully adorned iron fireplace and place her regalia on the small pillow that stood atop of a stone pillar next to her bed. With a loud yawn, the white alicorn jumped in the bedsheets and then engulfed the diary in a soft glowing aura, lifting it to her hooves so she could read - but before she even started reading further, Celestia paused for a moment to take into account the consequences of reading such private thoughts.

 _There are, certainly, moments when I doubt my ability to resist reading her thoughts..._

 _But on the other hoof, the first entry clearly shows something stirring within her.  
_

 _And I have to know who 'she' is..._

 _Ah, you silly, silly mare, you are a little jealous, aren't you?_

Her mind was locked in a battle of wits, as conflicting thoughts would come and go, turn her a messing blush or a stern pony - but she was _adamant_ to herself that there would be no lost night - she had to help Twilight, whoever she was in love with.

 _What am I even doing...,_ Celestia huffed in annoyance as her gaze went down the next entry.

 **Entry number two.**

 **Look at her, how gracious she is!**  
 **When she walked in, I could swear my heart just skipped a beat.**  
 **I'm ...somehow glad that she didn't catch me staring, 'cause that would've been weird.**  
 **Besides, ponies would've done anything to see _that_ going in the tabloids...**

 **"The Princess of Friendship gets caught staring at a beautiful mare.**  
 **Possibility of the dynasty's extinction? Very high. Risks Equestria's safety? Totally."**

 **Plus, they'll say Princess Celestia chose the wrong pony as her faithful student.**

Celestia could almost hear, in her mind, Twilight's slight gulp and imagined the perplexed look on the lavender Alicorn's face. _Twilight can be so silly sometimes...I think she deserves a few lessons about love, as much as I can do,_ the white alicorn mused as she could hear her own heart skipping a beat at that prospect.

 _Why am I feeling...so strange lately?_ she added as her face scrunched up in disbelief, and continued reading the next entry.

 **Entry number three.**

 **Screw what I said in the previous entry.**  
 **I talked with Applejack today about...this mare, and she told me to be straightforward.**  
 **But each time I see her, I just lose my words and I get extremely flustered...  
**

 **How the buck can I tell her that... _I want her_?**

 **That she means the whole world to me when I look into her eyes?**

Celestia couldn't help but slightly blush as Twilight's words were hitting home, in some way, as she remembered times when love was an intriguing concept for herself too - but she refused it each time, because she knew what the fate of her consorts would be - and wanted to spare herself of all the grief. And now, to see Twilight plagued by the same thoughts that she went through...it made her feel in a way she couldn't describe at all - like words weren't enough to say what exactly _was_ this feeling nagging at her.

The white alicorn couldn't help but leave a soft chuckle at how much Twilight reminded of her own youth, her own concerns, and a solitary thought occurred to the sun diarch as she re-read the third entry, _she's a hopeless romantic, that much is obvious, but I feel like I don't know enough._ She then flipped page after page, until she reached a very, very _interesting_ entry, inadvertently cast out the soundproofing spell - her eyes were widened in shock.

 **Entry number ten.**

 **I-I often see her...in a very, very arousing way.  
I do not intend to see her like this, but my mind just goes...well, dirty.  
Especially when she stays so close to me...  
I have that intention of just pouncing on her.**

 **I hope she never finds out about this.**

Celestia slowly gulped as she couldn't resist picturing Twilight in the same way, and sweat bedded on her mane.

 _Oh no. Stop, stop, stop, stop it, Tia! Just...stop, take a breath in...you can't be looking at Twilight like that...  
_

 _I have to find out who is this mare, looks like someone Twilight was seriously close to.  
I'll have to write her a letter, and have a little tea talk, because it seems like those feelings..._

 _Have gone unrequited for so long..._

* * *

 ** _A little A/N in here._**

 ** _I'm not going to surpass the T rating, there's no way I'm doing that.  
_**

 ** _Slight innuendos might happen, though, sorry for that.  
_**


	4. A Dream and Musings Over Tea

**Still working on how to emphasize things and make internal thoughts.  
If anything, I hope it's enjoyable in this format. :)**

* * *

 **A DREAM AND MUSINGS OVER TEA  
**

On the other side of the castle, Princess Luna was ready for another dreamwalking night - she enjoyed giving her subjects a little faith in themselves as much as her sister did - but back in her mind, she wondered if Twilight had yet another interesting dream or if there was another clue to this particular puzzle of her heart, because Luna took a greater interest in Twilight's trouble as she knew her sister to be less observant of the soft, yet quick glances Twilight would cast upon Celestia, for the former to turn into a blushing mess - Luna saw Twilight in such a state at the Grand Galloping Gala, but was content to let it slide, convinced herself it couldn't be.

But then, _the dreams_ happened, and she just couldn't divert her attention from them, being the soft-tuned, emotional Alicorn that she was.

It was certainly something to watch the lavender alicorn's scenarios spinning around the day she confessed her love to Celestia, they were worth of dramatic plays and perhaps, various sonnets, but Luna wasn't that much of a good writer as Twilight seemed to be, nor she had the time to properly express her emotions through writing. Nevertheless, each night, each dream of Twilight's made her solitude a lot less unpleasant, and genuinely made her smile softly in understanding.

 _"Ah, the bittersweet taste of love and its' tribulations."_

She was hoping that tonight, she will find out for just _how long_ has this been going on - the torment of the lavender alicorn was pretty much obvious in writing, but she enjoyed herself far too much to stop from taking a silent walk inside Twilight's dreams. It was different. It was... _enlightening_ , to say the least, but she wasn't going to pass down the hints to Celestia, not now. _Let her squirm a little in anticipation,_ the Lunar Princess thought with a light chuckle as she started to cast the Dreamwalking spell.

 _"In regno somnium!"_

She began trotting outside, in the chilling night, excited at the prospect of planning something to make the two alicorns admit their feelings to one another - she was secretly seeing them as a pair, anyway - and plotting things away was her hobby, _especially_ when it was about her sister's troubles. Her intention was noble, yes, but she also knew that the two had to come clean in their own terms. _"These two can be incredibly oblivious to one another's desire, while also casting secret glances at each other whenever they're together."_ the dark blue alicorn thought as her cyan eyes were scouting ahead for Ponyville.

She landed with ease on Twilight's balcony, hiding her magical presence from the lavender alicorn as she gently walked inside the chamber, a soft wind blowing through her mane. The sight before her was not uncommon, as she often found Twilight like this during her dreamwalks - and Luna had to be honest with herself, she'd been dreamwalking more and more - she did it almost each night, simply because both Twilight and Celestia's dreams were far too _interesting_ to back away from.

Twilight Sparkle was squirming in her bed, tossing and turning, sweat beading on her forehead, while the sheets looked in complete disorder...

 _"Another nightmare..."_ Luna mentally sighed as she stopped dead in her hooves to watch the scene before her _,_ while shaking her head in disbelief at how incredulous the alicorn before her could be - yet it was true, it was Twilight's worst fear multiplied tenfold.

Yes, the Lunar diarch was aware of the events that transpired during her niece's wedding, how Twilight went through Sombra's Door of Worst Fears, and she shook her head yet again, mane covering a bit of her face as she engulfed her horn in blue magic.

 **[Dreamplane]**

"No, please! Don't banish me!" the lavender alicorn yelled as two large guards were pulling her away from Celestia's chambers.

"Twilight Sparkle, you should know this is the most lenient punishment I can give you-" Dreamplane Celestia was telling her as she was looking at the big windows in her room.

"I-" Twilight said, as her eyes slitted in rage, "I outright _**refuse**_ to let this go!" she added as her powerful aura pushed the two guards away.

"You dare to disobey me, Twilight? After I told you that _**this**_ could never happen?" the white alicorn added in a stern voice as she looked towards her former student.

"I don't care what **_you_** think...I know that I'm afraid the real Celestia might banish me, might send me to Tartarus..." Twilight paused as she regained her breath, "but, I'd rather not back down and run away, like I always did around her."

"Of course you _**do**_ care about what I think, Twilight." Dream-Celestia said as she looked at Twilight in curiosity. "You're afraid even the slightest mistake could deny you any chance at being closer to me."

"Just..." Twilight said as she lit up her horn, "Just **_shut up,_** cause you're not _**her!**_ "

"Twilight..." Dream-Celestia said as she tilted her head in confusion.

"She's the perfect embodiment of everything! You have no idea how much I _**care**_ about her..." Twilight's breathing was a little faster as she uttered the last words, "And I'll _**not**_ fear any punishment!"

Suddenly, Dreamplane Celestia turned into her Nightmare version, as she approached inches away from Twilight's horn.

"I'm not her, yes...I'm your worst Nightmare." the figure said as she shot a powerful spell towards Twilight, knocking her away a few feet, straight into a pillar.

"I've faced _**worse**_ than this." Twilight roared as she began attacking Nightmare Celestia, while someone was watching...

 _"Oh no. I'm not going to let this escalate further..."_ Luna mused as she was watching the fight before her, beams of magic going back and forth, _"I have to convince Twilight to alter the dream somehow...Ah, yes!"  
_

The dark blue coated alicorn landed in the middle of the fight, prompting Twilight to stop in puzzlement, while everything seemed to slowly dissipate as the ambiance changed to a serene sky full of clouds, in daylight. Luna's gaze softened a little as she approached the _still puzzled_ alicorn before her, the latter wondering how did this actually came to pass - a drastic change of scenery that averted the nightmare about to befall her.

"Princess Luna? Is that you?...Wh-why are you here?" the lavender alicorn asked as she blinked away her hesitation.

"Thou art aware that this is just a dream, yes?" Luna said as she sat on a fluffy cloud. "Your mind decided to shift this dream to something a little more...comforting."

"Yeah, _probably_ ," Twilight said as she sat on another fluffy cloud, just across the Lunar Princess, "guess my love for flying shows itself in here, no?"

"Listen, I do not intend to stay too long in here..." the dark coated alicorn said as she looked at Twilight with her cyan eyes, "...you have something to figure out on your own. And don't be _tardy_ with this."

"Wa-" Twilight was about to ask Princess Luna to stay, but the latter walked away from the dream as she returned to reality.

 **[Dreamplane end]**

"What the hell was _that?_ " Twilight jolted upright as she looked at the faint moonlight that was enveloping her balcony, and had the strange feeling that someone was watching over her. _"Damnit, Twilight, set yourself straight..."_ she mentally chided herself as she plopped back on the bed, still sweating and her eyes wide open.

In the meantime, Princess Luna was flying back to Canterlot, her worried expression betrayed a single thought, "She _will figure it out in due time, I hope..."_ a thought that was somehow valid for her sister too. She shook her head lightly as her snout gave way to a lighthearted smile, while the chilly wind was ruffling her wings - and a few moments later, she was in sight of Canterlot Castle, just in the nick of time to lower the moon.

* * *

Celestia awoke in fear, as she was going through a nightmare of her own - the banishment of her sister - and looked around her bedroom, magenta eyes widened as outside, it was still night. _"Ah."_ the sun diarch thought as she placed a hoof to her forehead, blinking away her hesitation, _"I have to raise the sun, there's no time to waste on idle thoughts."_

The white alicorn trotted slowly towards the balcony, and opened her large wings as she steadied herself, eyes affixed to the vast horizon and horn gently engulfed in a golden aura. _"Solus Ascendio!"_ she chanted within her mind as the sun's semispheric form was gently rising from the horizon, enveloping the sky and the lands in a gorgeous warm, pink light, a sight that made Celestia smile softly, while she caught a glimpse of a dark coat on the other side of the castle. _"I hope Luna's alright..."_

She didn't forget, however, that she had a very, very important letter to send - and knowing the Apple family, they were up wiith the sun - the Princess _had to know_ whoever Twilight mentioned in her diary, but then a sudden thought raised in her mind. _"I'd have to deliver the letter in the old-fashioned way, and Ditzy Doo can be quite confused, my letter might not arrive in due time."_ The white alicorn sighed as she figured this had to be postponed until after the Day Court, and she shook her head in disbelief while dressing back in her usual regalia.

A loud knock was heard, and she called out in her normal voice, "Enter."

"Your Highness," the guard before her bowed respectfully, "It's time to open the Day Court."

"Thank you, Shield Star." she replied, waving one of her hooves dismissively. "I will arrive in the Throne Room at once."

The Day Court was - once again - filled with scores of ponies of all ranks and social statuses, that needed help, wisdom, or a mere advice from her, and she couldn't help leaving out a long sigh to the view before her. She never felt that _bored_ about listening to ponies' woes, but nevertheless, she didn't want to disappoint her subjects - and she entered the Throne Room with a gentle, yet somewhat cracking, smile as she looked at the ponies before her, and sat herself on the large throne while at her side were a secretary and two guards keeping order.

"First to come," the orange-mared secretary announced, "is Fluttershy."

 _"Fluttershy?...Whatever for?"_ Celestia's eyes widened in surprise as she saw the faded pink mane treading closer.

"Pr-Princess Celestia," Fluttershy bowed courteously, "I-I wanted to ask you if...i-if you could fund an animal hospital."

"Of course, Fluttershy." the white alicorn smiled at her, "I know your love and devotion for the animals."

 _"Least she's the first one to request something...I would've probably grumbled if it was-"_ Celestia stopped in the middle of her thoughts as she saw ambassador Feather Wind within the crowd, _"yes, if it was this particular unicorn."_ and sighed in exasperation.

"Princess?" Fluttershy asked as she saw the diarch's expression shifting to sheer frustration.

"My apologies, Element of Kindness," Celestia retorted, "I am decreeing that 15000 bits will be donated to Fluttershy in order to create an Animal Hospital."

The Court went up until the afternoon, as the sun diarch offered advice on all the topics beforehoof and she received, at the end, ambassador Feather Wind, with whom she had a rather _displeasing_ talk, as the latter was still adamant on the idea that a matrimonial arrangement would be the best solution to repair the Deer Kingdom's relations with Equestria.

 _"I need some tea. A lot of tea..."_ the sun diarch thought as she rubbed her forehead in frustration, and then pulled, with her magic, a large bell rope to call out for some tea - it was linked directly to the Royal Kitchen, where Chef Stillwater was tending to Her Majesty's usual tea, which consisted mostly of chamomile.

"Your tea, your Highness." came from the door a stern, yet baritonal voice, and the Princess opened the door, revealing a grey coated unicorn, dressed like a chef, that held in his magic a large plate with two cups of tea and a big kettle.

"Thank you, Stillwater." she gently said as the unicorn retreated, and poured herself a cup of hot tea.

 _"Now, let us see, how should I approach Applejack? A direct approach won't do..."_ the white alicorn mused until an idea contured itself in her mind.

 _"I shall return to the faithful art of disguise, while letting Applejack know she, and only she, has to greet this pony."_

The alicorn then engulfed in her magic a quill and a paper, enchanting the latter so only Applejack can see its' contents, and started writing a few lines.

 **My faithful subject Applejack,**

 **You are requested to escort a special pony for tomorrow.**

 **Her name is Quantilia, and she's a pony with a white mane and blue coat, as far as my informations go.**

 **Please, do your best to make her feel like home.**

 **Princess Celestia, Diarch of the Sun.**

 _"I do hope I remember Quantilia's personality..."_ Celestia sighed as she went out to instruct her guards - and Luna - about what she was about to do, for this was the first time in a thousand years - well, since Luna's return, that Celestia used a disguise.

 _"This certainly looks interesting..."_ Luna could only muse as she saw her sister disguising herself.


End file.
